Francine M.G. McCarthy

Professor

Micropaleontologist interested in 1) paleoceanographic, paleolimnological and paleoclimatic reconstructions of late Cenozoic sediments, 2) the impact of taphonomy on microfossil records, and 3) land–sea correlation.

Francine studies microfossils from late Cenozoic (primarily Pliocene to Recent) marine and lacustrine sediments to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions (paleoclimate, paleoproductivity, paleosea-level, paleosalinity, etc.). These studies include investigating the impact of taphonomy (differential transport and preservation potential) on the record of these microfossils, which include pollen and spores, dinoflagellate cysts, planktonic foraminifera and thecamoebians. Her research has spanned small lake to abyssal marine environments and everything in between, primarily at mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, and has been conducted in collaboration with a number of geologists, biologists, geographers, and archeologists from government, university, and the private sector.

Specific research interests and activities

Postglacial climatic and hydrological changes in the Great Lakes region recorded by pollen/spores, dinoflagellate cysts and thecamoebians, currently focusing on the “8200 year event” with colleagues from the GSC (Geological Survey of Canada) and various Canadian and American universities

Palynomorphs (pollen/ spores and dinoflagellate cysts/ acritarchs) as sea level indicators; Late Cenozoic sea level change and the stratigraphy of the Atlantic Coastal Plain/ New Jersey margin with colleagues from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) and Rutgers University, and most recently as part of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 313, New Jersey Shallow Shelf

Impact of late Cenozoic aridification on sea surface productivity and sedimentation at mid-latitudes in the western North Pacific Ocean; correlation or Ocean Drilling Program sites with the Chinese loess plateau using marine and terrestrial palynomorphs

Studies of anthropogenic impact and remediation monitoring using microfossil bioindicators (thecamoebians, dinoflagellate cysts), in the Great Lakes region and more recently in the Oil Sands region of NE Alberta

McCarthy, F.M.G. , Gostlin, K.E., Mudie, P.J., and Ohlenschlager Pedersen, R., 2004. The palynological record of terrigenous flux to the deep sea: late Pliocene–Recent examples from 41 oN latitude in the abyssal Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology 128: 81–95.

McCarthy, F.M.G. , McAndrews, J.H., Sarvis, A.P., and Blasco, S., 2002. The role of climate in the water level history of Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Invited talk, Annual Meeting of the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) , Winnipeg MB, June 2002